Chapter 4 section 1As a constitutional democracy, the United Kingdom is governed by a
wide range of institutions, many of which provide checks on each other’s
powers. Most of these institutions are of long standing: they include
the monarchy, Parliament, (consisting of the House of Commons and the
House of Lords), the office of Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the
judiciary, the police, the civil service, and the institutions of local
government. More recently, devolved administrations have been set up for
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Together, these formal
institutions, laws and conventions form the British Constitution. Some
people would argue that the roles of other less formal institutions,
such as the media and pressure groups, should also be seen as part of
the Constitution.

The British Constitution is not written down in any single document,
as are the constitutions of many other countries. This is mainly because
the United Kingdom has never had a lasting revolution, like America or
France, so our most important institutions have been in existence for
hundreds of years. Some people believe that there should be a single
document, but others believe that an unwritten constitution allows more
scope for institutions to adapt to meet changing circumstances and
public expectations.

The monarchy
Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State of the United Kingdom. She is
also the monarch or Head of State for many countries in the
Commonwealth.

The UK, like Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, has a
constitutional monarchy. This means that the king or queen does not
rule the country, but appoints the government which the people have
chosen in democratic elections. Although the queen or king can advise,
warn and encourage the Prime Minister, the decisions on government
policies are made by the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The Queen has reigned since her father’s death in 1952. Prince
Charles, the Prince of Wales, her oldest son, is the heir to the throne.

The Queen has important ceremonial roles such as the opening of the
new parliamentary session each year. On this occasion the Queen makes a
speech that summarises the government’s policies for the year ahead.

Government
The system of government in the United Kingdom is a parliamentary
democracy. The UK is divided into 646 parliamentary constituencies and
at least every five years voters in each constituency elect their Member
of Parliament (MP) in a general election. All of the elected MPs form
the House of Commons. Most MPs belong to a political party and the party
with the largest number of MPs forms the government.

The law that requires new elections to Parliament to be held at least
every five years is so fundamental that no government has sought to
change it. A Bill to change it is the only one to which the House of
Lords must give its consent.

Some people argue that the power of Parliament is lessened because of
the obligation on the United Kingdom to accept the rules of the
European Union and the judgments of the European Court, but it was
Parliament itself which created these obligations.

The House of Commons
The House of Commons is the more important of the two chambers in
Parliament, and its members are democratically elected. Nowadays the
Prime Minister and almost all the members of the Cabinet are members of
the House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons are called
‘Members of Parliament’ or MPs for short. Each MP represents a
parliamentary constituency, or area of the country: there are 646 of
these. MPs have a number of different responsibilities. They represent
everyone in their constituency, they help to create new laws, they
scrutinise and comment on what the government is doing, and they debate
important national issues.

Elections
There must be a general election to elect MPs at least every five
years, though they may be held sooner if the Prime Minister so decides.
If an MP dies or resigns, there will be another election, called a
by-election, in his or her constituency. MPs are elected through a
system called ‘first past the post’. In each constituency, the candidate
who gets the most votes is elected. The government is then formed by
the party which wins the majority of constituencies.

The Whips
The Whips are a small group of MPs appointed by their party leaders.
They are responsible for discipline in their party and making sure MPs
attend the House of Commons to vote. The Chief Whip often attends
Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet meetings and arranges the schedule of
proceedings in the House of Commons with the Speaker.

European parliamentary elections
Elections for the European Parliament are also held every five years.
There are 78 seats for representatives from the UK in the European
Parliament and elected members are called Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs). Elections to the European Parliament use a system of
proportional representation, whereby seats are allocated to each party
in proportion to the total votes it won.

The House of Lords
Members of the House of Lords, known as peers, are not elected and do
not represent a constituency. The role and membership of the House of
Lords have recently undergone big changes. Until1958 all peers were
either ‘hereditary’, meaning that their titles were inherited, senior
judges, or bishops of the Church of England. Since 1958 the Prime
Minister has had the power to appoint peers just for their own lifetime.
These peers, known as Life Peers, have usually had a distinguished
career in politics, business, law or some other profession. This means
that debates in the House of Lords often draw on more specialist
knowledge than is available to members of the House of Commons. Life
Peers are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister,
but they include people nominated by the leaders of the other main
parties and by an independent Appointments Commission for non-party
peers.

In the last few years the hereditary peers have lost the automatic
right to attend the House of Lords, although they are allowed to elect a
few of their number to represent them.

While the House of Lords is usually the less important of the two
chambers of Parliament, it is more independent of the government. It can
suggest amendments or propose new laws, which are then discussed by the
House of Commons The House of Lords can become very important if the
majority of its members will not agree to pass a law for which the House
of Commons has voted. The House of Commons has powers to overrule the
House of Lords, but these are very rarely used.

The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the political party in
power. He or she appoints the members of the Cabinet and has control
over many important public appointments. The official home of the Prime
Minister is 10 Downing Street, in central London, near the Houses of
Parliament; he or she also has a country house not far from London
called Chequers. The Prime Minister can be changed if the MPs in the
governing party decide to do so, or if he or she wishes to resign. More
usually, the Prime Minister resigns when his or her party is defeated in
a general election.

The Cabinet
The Prime Minister appoints about 20 senior MPs to become ministers
in charge of departments. These include the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
responsible for the economy, the Home Secretary, responsible for law,
order and immigration, the Foreign Secretary, and ministers (called
‘Secretaries of State’) for education, health and defence The Lord
Chancellor, who is the minister responsible for legal affairs, is also a
member of the Cabinet but sat in the House of Lords rather than the
House of Commons. Following legislation passed in 2005, it is now
possible for the Lord Chancellor to sit in the Commons. These ministers
form the Cabinet, a small committee which usually meets weekly and makes
important decisions about government policy which often then have to be
debated or approved by Parliament.

The Opposition
The second largest party in the House of Commons is called the
Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition is the person who hopes to
become Prime Minister if his or her party wins the next general
election. The Leader of the Opposition leads his or her party in
pointing out the government’s failures and weaknesses; one important
opportunity to do this is at Prime Minister’s Questions which takes
place every week while Parliament is sitting. The Leader of the
Opposition also appoints senior Opposition MPs to lead the criticism of
government ministers, and together they form the Shadow Cabinet.

The Speaker
Debates in the House of Commons are chaired by the Speaker, the chief
officer of the House of Commons. The Speaker is politically neutral. He
or she is an MP, elected by fellow MPs to keep order during political
debates and to make sure the rules are followed. This includes making
sure the Opposition has a guaranteed amount of time to debate issues it
chooses. The Speaker also represents Parliament at ceremonial occasions.

The party system
Under the British system of parliamentary democracy, anyone can stand
for election as an MP but they are unlikely to win an election unless
they have been nominated to represent one of the major political
parties. These are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Liberal
Democrats, or one of the parties representing Scottish, Welsh, or
Northern Irish interests. There are just a few MPs who do not represent
any of the main political parties and are called ‘independents’. The
main political parties actively seek members among ordinary voters to
join their debates, contribute to their costs, and help at elections for
Parliament or for local government; they have branches in most
constituencies and they hold policy-making conferences every year.

Pressure and lobby groups
Pressure and lobby groups are organisations that try to influence
government policy. They play a very important role in politics. There
are many pressure groups in the UK. They may represent economic
interests (such as the Confederation of British Industry, the Consumers’
Association, or the trade unions) or views on particular subjects (e.g.
Greenpeace or Liberty) The general public is more likely to support
pressure groups than join a political party.

The civil service
Civil servants are managers and administrators who carry out
government policy. They have to be politically neutral and professional,
regardless of which political party is in power. Although civil
servants have to follow the policies of the elected government, they can
warn ministers if they think a policy is impractical or not in the
public interest. Before a general election takes place, top civil
servants study the Opposition party’s policies closely in case they need
to be ready to serve a new government with different aims and policies.

Devolved administration
In order to give people in Wales and Scotland more control of matters
that directly affect them, in 1997 the government began a programme of
devolving power from central government. Since 1999 there has been a
Welsh Assembly, a Scottish Parliament and, periodically, a Northern
Ireland Assembly. Although policy and laws governing defence, foreign
affairs, taxation and social security all remain under central UK
government control, many other public services now come under the
control of the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland.

Both the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly have been set up
using forms of proportional representation which ensures that each party
gets a number of seats in proportion to the number of votes they
receive. Similarly, proportional representation is used in Northern
Ireland in order to ensure ‘power sharing’ between the Unionist majority
(mainly Protestant) and the substantial (mainly Catholic) minority
aligned to Irish nationalist parties. A different form of proportional
representation is used for elections to the European Parliament.

The Welsh Assembly Government
The National Assembly for Wales, or Welsh Assembly Government (WAG),
is situated in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales It has 60 Assembly
Members (AMs) and elections are held every four years. Members can speak
in either Welsh or English and all its publications are in both
languages. The Assembly has the power to make decisions on important
matters such as education policy, the environment, health services,
transport and local government, and to pass laws for Wales on these
matters within a statutory framework set out by the UK Parliament at
Westminster.

The Parliament of Scotland
A long campaign in Scotland for more independence and democratic
control led to the formation in 1999 of the Parliament of Scotland,
which sits in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland.

There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected by a
form of proportional representation. This has led to the sharing of
power in Scotland between the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. The
Scottish Parliament can pass legislation for Scotland on all matters
that are not specifically reserved to the UK Parliament. The matters on
which the Scottish Parliament can legislate include civil and criminal
law, health, education, planning and the raising of additional taxes.

The Northern Ireland Assembly
A Northern Ireland Parliament was established in 1922 when Ireland
was divided, but it was abolished in 1972 shortly after the Troubles
broke out in 1969.

Soon after the end of the Troubles, the Northern Ireland Assembly was
established with a power-sharing agreement which distributes
ministerial offices among the main parties. The Assembly has 108 elected
members known as MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly).
Decision-making powers devolved to Northern Ireland include education,
agriculture, the environment, health and social services in Northern
Ireland.

The UK government kept the power to suspend the Northern Ireland
Assembly if the political leaders no longer agreed to work together or
if the Assembly was not working in the interests of the people of
Northern Ireland. This has happened several times and the Assembly is
currently suspended (2006). This means that the elected assembly members
do not have power to pass bills or make decisions.

Local government
Towns, cities and rural areas in the UK are governed by
democratically elected councils, often called local authorities. Some
areas have both district and county councils which have different
functions, although most larger towns and cities will have a single
local authority. Many councils representing towns and cities appoint a
mayor who is the ceremonial leader of the council but in some towns a
mayor is appointed to be the effective leader of the administration.
London has 33 local authorities, with the Greater London Authority and
the Mayor of London co-ordinating policies across the capital Local
authorities are required to provide ‘mandatory services’ in their area.
These services include education, housing, social services, passenger
transport, the fire service, rubbish collection, planning, environmental
health and libraries.

Most of the money for the local authority services comes from the
government through taxes. Only about 20% is funded locally through
‘council tax’ a local tax set by councils to help pay for local
services. It applies to all domestic properties, including houses,
bungalows, flats, maisonettes, mobile homes or houseboats, whether owned
or rented.

Local elections for councillors are held in May every year Many
candidates stand for council election as members of a political party

The judiciary
In the UK the laws made by Parliament are the highest authority. But
often important questions arise about how the laws are to be interpreted
in particular cases. It is the task of the judges (who are together
called ‘the judiciary’) to interpret the law, and the government may not
interfere with their role. Often the actions of the government are
claimed to be illegal and, if the judges agree, then the government must
either change its policies or ask Parliament to change the law. This
has become all the more important in recent years, as the judges now
have the task of applying the Human Rights Act. If they find that a
public body is not respecting a person’s human rights, they may order
that body to change its practices and to pay compensation, if
appropriate. If the judges believe that an Act of Parliament is
incompatible with the Human Rights Act, they cannot change it themselves
but they can ask Parliament to consider doing so.

Judges cannot, however, decide whether people are guilty or innocent
of serious crimes. When someone is accused of a serious crime, a jury
will decide whether he or she is innocent or guilty and, if guilty, the
judge will decide on the penalty. For less important crimes, a
magistrate will decide on guilt and on any penalty.

The police
The police service is organised locally, with one police service for
each county or group of counties. The largest force is the Metropolitan
Police, which serves London and is based at New Scotland Yard. Northern
Ireland as a whole is served by the Police Service for Northern Ireland
(PSNI). The police have ‘operational independence’, which means that the
government cannot instruct them on what to do in any particular case.
But the powers of the police are limited by the law and their finances
are controlled by the government and by police authorities made up of
councillors and magistrates. The Independent Police Complaints
Commission (or, in Northern Ireland, the Police Ombudsman) investigates
serious complaints against the police.

Non-departmental public bodies (quangos)
Non-departmental public bodies, also known as quangos, are
independent organisations that carry out functions on behalf of the
public which it would be inappropriate to place under the political
control of a Cabinet minister. There are many hundreds of these bodies,
carrying out a wide variety of public duties. Appointments to these
bodies are usually made by ministers, but they must do so in an open and
fair way.

The role of the media
Proceedings in Parliament are broadcast on digital television and
published in official reports such as Hansard, which is available in
large libraries and on the internet: www.parliament.uk .
Most people, however, get information about political issues and events
from newspapers (often called the press), television and radio

The UK has a free press, meaning that what is written in newspapers
is free from government control. Newspaper owners and editors hold
strong political opinions and run campaigns to try and influence
government policy and public opinion. As a result it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish fact from opinion in newspaper coverage.

By law, radio and television coverage of the political parties at
election periods must be balanced and so equal time has to be given to
rival viewpoints. But broadcasters are free to interview politicians in a
tough and lively way.

Who can vote?
The United Kingdom has had a fully democratic system since 1928, when
women were allowed to vote at 21, the same age as men. The present
voting age of 18 was set in 1969, and (with a few exceptions such as
convicted prisoners) all UK-born and naturalised citizens have full
civic rights, including the right to vote and do jury service.

Citizens of the UK, the Commonwealth and the Irish Republic (if
resident in the UK) can vote in all public elections. Citizens of EU
states who are resident in the UK can vote in all elections except
national parliamentary (general) elections.

In order to vote in a parliamentary, local or European election, you
must have your name on the register of electors, known as the electoral
register. If you are eligible to vote, you can register by contacting
your local council election registration office. If you don’t know what
your local authority is, you can find out by telephoning the Local
Government Association (LGA) information line on 020 7664 3131 between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. You will have to tell them your
postcode or your full address and they will be able to give you the name
of your local authority. You can also get voter registration forms in
English, Welsh and some other languages on the internet: www.electoralcommission.org.uk .

The electoral register is updated every year in September or October.
An electoral registration form is sent to every household and it has to
be completed and returned, with the names of everyone who is resident
in the household and eligible to vote on 15 October.

In Northern Ireland a different system operates. This is called
individual registration and all those entitled to vote must complete
their own registration form. Once registered, you can stay on the
register provided your personal details do not change. For more
information telephone the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland on 028
9044 6688.

By law, each local authority has to make its electoral register
available for anyone to look at, although this now has to be supervised.
The register is kept at each local electoral registration office (or
council office in England and Wales). It is also possible to see the
register at some public buildings such as libraries.

Standing for office
Most citizens of the United Kingdom, the Irish Republic or the
Commonwealth aged 18 or over can stand for public office. There are some
exceptions and these include members of the armed forces, civil
servants and people found guilty of certain criminal offences. Members
of the House of Lords may not stand for election to the House of Commons
but are eligible for all other public offices.

To become a local councillor, a candidate must have a local
connection with the area through work, being on the electoral register,
or through renting or owning land or property.

Contacting elected members
All elected members have a duty to serve and represent their
constituents. You can get contact details for all your representatives
and their parties from your local library Assembly members, MSPs, MPs
and MEPs are also listed in the phone book and Yellow Pages. You can
contact MPs by letter or phone at their constituency office or their
office in the House of Commons. The House of Commons, Westminster,
London SW1A 0AA, or telephone 020 7729 3000. Many Assembly Members,
MSPs, MPs and MEPs hold regular local ‘surgeries’. These are often
advertised in the local paper and constituents can go and talk about
issues in person. You can find out the name of your local MP and get in
touch with them by fax through the website: www.writetothem.com . This service is free.

How to visit Parliament and the Devolved Administrations
• The public can listen to debates in the Palace of Westminster from
public galleries in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
You can either write to your local MP in advance to ask for tickets or
you can queue on the day at the public entrance. Entrance is free.
Sometimes there are long queues for the House of Commons and you may
have to wait for at least one or two hours. It is usually easier to get
into the House of Lords. You can find further information on the UK
Parliament website: www.parliament.uk

• In Northern Ireland, elected members, known as MLAs, meet in the
Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, in Belfast. The Northern Ireland
Assembly is presently suspended. There are two ways to arrange a visit
to Stormont. You can either contact the Education Service (details on
the Northern Ireland Assembly website: www.niassembly.gov.uk ) or contact an MLA

• In Scotland, the elected members, called MSPs, meet in the
Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh (for more information see: www.scottish.parliament.uk ).
You can get information, book tickets or arrange tours through the
visitor services. You can write to them at The Scottish Parliament,
Edinburgh, EH99 1SP or telephone 0131 348 5200, or email: sp.bookings@scottish.parliament.uk

• In Wales, the elected members, known as AMs, meet in the Welsh
Assembly in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay (for more information see: www.wales.gov.uk ).
You can book guided tours or seats in the public galleries for the
Welsh Assembly. To make a booking, telephone the Assembly booking line
on 029 2089 8477 or email: assembly.booking@wales.gsi.gov.uk

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